Four More Vessels Ordered: COSCO Shipping Bulk Continues Fleet Expansion with 210,000 DWT Ships, ICBC Financial Leasing Partners with Beihai Shipbuilding
A new project for 210,000 DWT bulk carriers from COSCO Shipping Bulk has officially begun. On July 16th, a signing ceremony for four 210,000 DWT bulk carriers was held in Qingdao, involving China State Shipbuilding Corporation's Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding, China Shipbuilding Trading, ICBC Financial Leasing, and COSCO Shipping Bulk. Senior executives from each company, including ICBC Financial Leasing President Zhang Bao, COSCO Shipping Bulk Chief Accountant Lin Feng, and Beihai Shipbuilding Chairman Ou Chuanjie, attended the signing.
During the ceremony, representatives from ICBC Shipping Financial Leasing, COSCO Shipping Bulk, China Shipbuilding Trading, and Beihai Shipbuilding signed the agreements on behalf of their respective organizations.
The Four New 210,000 DWT Vessels Feature Methanol and Ammonia Dual-Fuel Ready Design
All four vessels in this order are 210,000 DWT bulk carriers. According to Beihai Shipbuilding, the new ships will have an overall length of 299.90 meters, a beam of 50.00 meters, a depth of 26.30 meters, and a structural draft of 18.50 meters. They are designed with methanol and ammonia dual-fuel ready capabilities, meeting the IMO Tier III emission standards and the EEDI Phase 3 requirements. The vessel dimensions and deadweight tonnage classify them as Newcastlemax-type vessels, a mainstream type in the international dry bulk market, suitable for long-haul transportation of commodities like iron ore and coal, especially on routes from major resource exporters like Australia and Brazil to China and Northeast Asia.
The methanol and ammonia dual-fuel ready design does not mean the vessels will be delivered with dual-fuel engines. Instead, it involves structural provisions, equipment space, fuel system interfaces, and piping arrangements to allow for future retrofitting. Given the significant uncertainty surrounding alternative fuel availability, pricing, and international emission regulations, this design enables shipowners to manage newbuilding costs now while retaining the option to switch to low-carbon or zero-carbon fuels later.
ICBC Financial Leasing Joins, Clarifying COSCO Shipping Bulk's Expansion Strategy
A key feature of this project is the participation of ICBC Financial Leasing, a financial leasing institution. While specific details regarding the ownership structure, lease duration, charter rates, and contract value have not been disclosed, the four-party agreement suggests this project will follow the common model for large-scale shipping projects: financial institutions invest and hold the assets, shipyards are responsible for construction, and shipping companies manage long-term operations.
Under this structure, ICBC Financial Leasing and its shipping leasing platform provide capital and asset ownership. China Shipbuilding Trading and Beihai Shipbuilding handle the execution and delivery of the vessels. COSCO Shipping Bulk secures the right to use the ships through long-term chartering and is responsible for commercial operations. This model helps shipping companies reduce the capital expenditure burden of direct purchases, matching financing terms with the long lifecycle of large bulk carriers. For financial leasing firms, it offers access to long-term, relatively stable cash-flow assets backed by the operational capability and credit of a major state-owned shipping enterprise.
This project continues the synergy model of "shipping operations platform + shipping finance platform + shipbuilder" that COSCO Shipping Group has been strengthening in the large dry bulk sector. In July 2025, COSCO Shipping Development ordered four 210,000 DWT Newcastlemax bulk carriers from Beihai Shipbuilding for a total of RMB 2.112 billion, which were then long-term chartered to COSCO Shipping Bulk. Those ships, also featuring methanol and ammonia fuel-ready designs, are scheduled for delivery between December 2027 and August 2028. In January 2026, Zheshang Financial Leasing also signed a contract with COSCO Shipping Bulk, Beihai Shipbuilding, and China Shipbuilding Trading for three new 210,000 DWT dry cargo ships. Besides the dual-fuel ready design, these vessels emphasize adaptability for bulk, breakbulk, and containerized cargoes. At the end of June 2026, COSCO Shipping Development announced the construction of two more 210,000 DWT dry cargo ships at Beihai Shipbuilding at a unit price of RMB 610 million (excluding tax), to be bareboat chartered to COSCO Shipping Bulk's subsidiary, Huifeng Shipping, for about 20 years after delivery.
The signing of this four-vessel project with ICBC Financial Leasing indicates that COSCO Shipping Bulk is expanding its network of financial leasing partners, creating a capital structure supported by both internal group financial platforms and external major leasing institutions for fleet expansion.
COSCO Shipping Bulk Intensifies Focus on the 210,000 DWT Vessel Type
Over the past year, COSCO Shipping Bulk has aggressively pursued newbuild projects for 210,000 DWT bulk carriers, partnering with various financial and leasing institutions like COSCO Shipping Development, ICBC Financial Leasing, and Zheshang Financial Leasing. The shipyards involved include Beihai Shipbuilding, COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry (Yangzhou), COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry (Zhoushan), and Dalian Shipbuilding. Rather than relying solely on direct orders, COSCO Shipping Bulk has employed a mix of strategies, including direct orders, intra-group asset transfers, operating leases, bareboat charters, and external financial leases. This approach suggests a systematic renewal of its large dry bulk fleet, rather than opportunistic spot purchases tied to short-term market conditions.
Newcastlemax vessels of this size are a workhorse for the global iron ore trade due to their large cargo capacity and lower unit transport costs, especially for long-distance voyages. Demand for ton-mile from resource-rich regions like Brazil, Guinea, and Australia to China continues to support the need for large bulk carriers. As the Simandou iron ore project gradually increases output and international mining companies place greater emphasis on low-carbon transport and long-term capacity assurance, the long-term value of large, modern Newcastlemax vessels capable of future fuel conversion is rising. For COSCO Shipping Bulk, securing these newbuilds helps replenish and upgrade its large ore carrying capacity, serving core cargoes like iron ore and coal, and strengthens its ability to secure long-term contracts of affreightment from mining companies, enhancing revenue stability. COSCO Shipping Bulk has already signed five-year time charters with BHP for two ammonia dual-fuel Newcastlemax bulk carriers to transport iron ore from Western Australia to Northeast Asia, demonstrating that major miners are using long-term charters to drive lower-emission vessels into active service.
Beihai Shipbuilding Solidifies its Advantage in Large Bulk Carriers
This new order further solidifies Beihai Shipbuilding's competitive edge in the serial construction of 210,000 DWT large bulk carriers, a product that has become its flagship. The shipyard has continuously developed different technical versions for this vessel type, including conventional fuel, LNG dual-fuel, methanol-ready, ammonia-ready, and ammonia dual-fuel, serving both domestic and international shipping majors. Beihai Shipbuilding previously stated that its order book for large bulk carriers ranks among the top globally for single shipyards, with a mature design, procurement, and series construction system for the 210,000 DWT type. Public information from early 2026 showed the shipyard held orders for 59 vessels of this type, totaling approximately 14.4 million DWT. Serial orders improve efficiency in equipment procurement, block construction, and continuous building, and also allow for design iteration. For instance, the 210,000 DWT ships ordered by COSCO Shipping Development from Beihai Shipbuilding reportedly feature a new generation of efficient hull forms, reducing fuel consumption by about 6% compared to previous generations. This renewed four-party cooperation structure shows Beihai Shipbuilding is moving beyond simply executing shipbuilding contracts to becoming more deeply integrated into a coordinated industry chain involving shipping, finance, and manufacturing.
The "Build, Lease, Operate" Synergy Model Emerges as a Key Path for State-Owned Enterprise Fleet Expansion
For COSCO Shipping Bulk, the new vessels will expand its large dry bulk capacity. For ICBC Financial Leasing, the project adds long-term maritime assets with a major state-owned shipping company as the lessee. For Beihai Shipbuilding and China Shipbuilding Trading, it secures further serial construction orders and a stable customer base. Jointly promoting new ship projects by shipbuilders, financial leasing firms, and shipping operators is becoming a crucial strategy for Chinese shipping companies to renew fleets, alleviate financing pressure, and advance green transition. Particularly with large vessel prices remaining high and future fuel pathways still uncertain, long-term chartering models can disperse the shipowner's capital investment, while methanol and ammonia dual-fuel ready designs preserve future technical upgrade options. The signing of this contract for four 210,000 DWT bulk carriers marks the continued expansion of COSCO Shipping Bulk's fleet towards larger, greener, and more specialized vessels. It also forges a clearer cooperation chain of "financial support – equipment construction – shipping operation" among ICBC Financial Leasing, COSCO Shipping Bulk, Beihai Shipbuilding, and China Shipbuilding Trading.